Kukla's Korner Hockey

Last season, Fleury became the Pens’ undisputed No. 1 goaltender, finishing with a save percentage of .906. However, the whispering started when the Penguins were quickly dispatched in the first round of the playoffs by the Ottawa Senators.

Those whispers grew much louder a few weeks ago when the Penguins did not start well. Sidney Crosby may not have been scoring, and still isn’t, but it was Fleury who took the criticism.

“The one thing we can’t forget is that [Fleury] is the youngest No. 1 goalie in the league,” Penguins head coach Michel Therrien said yesterday. “He is still learning. It seemed a lot of people were panicking, but we weren’t panicking because we knew his game was going to get back where it was supposed to be.”